1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image editing method and apparatus for editing an image including plural figure objects, and more particularly, to image editing and apparatus capable of easily changing editing contents, having image editing functions related to object display position, and image editing functions related to display object processing. The image editing functions related to object display position include generation of figure object including basic figures such as a line, an ellipse and a polygon, generation of graph based on input data base (a circle graph, a line graph, a bar graph, a 3D graph etc.), capture of image object from a scanner, and cutting-out, copying, pasting, movement and deletion of image on an edited document; and image editing functions related to display object processing include coloring, shading, and 3D display.
More specifically, the present invention relates to image editing method and apparatus capable of editing an image with excellent operability in accordance with an instruction input (command) from a user, and more particularly, to image editing method and apparatus for performing editing with simple and efficient operation by utilizing a history of past editing, i.e., a command string.
2. Description of the Related Art
With recent technological innovation, comparatively small and low-price general computer systems such as a personal computer and a work station have been developed, and widely used in various research institutes, enterprise offices, and general consumers"" houses.
As one of main purposes of these general computer systems, so-called DTP (Desk Top Publishing) is known. The DTP is important with increasing needs to personally generate documents with high confidentiality, such as intra-company documents and new letters, in a labor saving manner and at a low cost. The DTP is realized by various factors such as the emergence of software allowing a user to freely layout plural documents within one page, the emergence of page printer (e.g., a laser-beam printer) providing printing quality as excellent as typeset quality, implementation of pasting of image captured by an image scanner, a video camera or the like, within a document, and improvement in outline font with high printing quality.
A DTP application to realize DTP operation generally has image editing functions to edit an image including plural figure objects. The image editing functions here include functions related to object display position such as generation of figure object including basic figures such as a line, an ellipse and a polygon, generation of graphs based on input data base (a circle graph, a line graph, a bar graph, a 3D graph etc.), and cutting-out, copying, pasting, movement and deletion of a generated object. Further, the image editing functions include functions related to display object processing such as coloring, shading, and 3D display, or functions for an image read by a scanner such as coloring, cutting-out, pasting/moving/copying, and enlargement/reduction/rotation.
The DTP application provides standard commands often used for these image editing operations in graphical user interface (GUI) format. That is, a user can select a desired command from the pull-down menu of corresponding menu item. Otherwise, often-sued editing commands are represented as buttons and provided in a so-called xe2x80x9ctool barxe2x80x9d. The user can start a corresponding editing function by the click of a desired button from the tool bar (well-known technique). In a GUI environment, the user can perform almost all the image editing operations merely at the click of a mouse.
Further, the DTP application also includes a preview display function for verification of original image as an edited result by visual observation prior to print output (well-known technique). For example, if xe2x80x9cPrint Previewxe2x80x9d is selected from the pull-down menu of xe2x80x9cFilexe2x80x9d menu included in a menu bar, or a xe2x80x9cPrint Previewxe2x80x9d button is selected from the tool bar, a preview image can be started. The preview image is represented with a reduced display of RGB original image.
It is an ordinary work for DTP users to change somewhat of already-edited image object on a preview image or an edited image having a normal size.
For example, if an attribute value of coloring or the like related to some figure object is to be changed, first, the object is selected on a DTP editing image. Next, a corresponding xe2x80x9cAttribute Palettexe2x80x9d is selected, and a color attribute or the like is changed to a desired value. Thus the original image can be modified.
Further, generally, command type and command input order used for image editing by the user are provided as patterns, i.e., several xe2x80x9ccommand stringsxe2x80x9d. In other words, a new image file (or an object in the image file) can be changed to a desired image to a certain degree by utilizing the history of past editing, i.e., some of the command strings. Further, the image editing operation can be made efficiently by utilizing such history of past editing.
For example, there is a need to continuously obtain complete images by sequentially reading original images from a scanner and applying similar editing commands to the respective input images. As the editing commands to be applied to the input images, commands for coloring, color adjustment, enlargement/reduction/rotation, cutting-out, pasting into a document file, saving as an image file, and the like, can be given.
However, if the user himself/herself stores plural types of command strings, the load on the user is extremely heavy. For this reason, in use of image editing apparatus such as DTP device, it is desirable to provide some input support for the user""s command-string selection with ease.
For example, the image editing apparatus may manage the respective command strings based on identification numbers, otherwise, may display commands included in a command string in list form. However, in the former case where the apparatus displays only the identification numbers, the user cannot grasp the functions of the command strings. Further, in the latter case where the apparatus displays the contents of the command string in list form, the user cannot easily imagine the contents of the editing processing, i.e., an image object generated by application of the command string.
Further, it may be arranged such that names are given to command strings used in the past or add comments to editing contents or the like of the command strings. However, in this case, during image editing, the user must successively input a name and a comment of the command string. This is disadvantageous as a matter of convenience and facilitation. Further, as the name and comments are basically inputted from a keyboard, the characteristic of GUI environment based on intuitive and simple input operation using a mouse is disturbed.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and provides excellent image editing method and apparatus capable of editing an image including figure objects and easily changing the editing contents.
Further, the present invention provides excellent image editing method and apparatus capable of editing an image with high operability in accordance with an instruction input (command) from a user.
Further, the present invention provides excellent image editing method and apparatus capable of performing editing operations simply and efficiently by utilizing the history of past editing i.e., a command string.
Further, the present invention provides excellent image editing method and apparatus capable of performing editing operations simply and efficiently by preparing a large number of command strings for selective use with ease.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the image editing method, for editing an image by using plural editing commands, includes: (a) a step of sequentially storing a series of editing commands designated by a user during a period of editing one image; (b) a step of generating associated information related to the image edited based on the series of editing commands; and (c) a step of registering the series of editing commands as a command string, in correspondence with the associated information.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the image editing method, for editing an image by using plural editing commands, includes: (a) a step of sequentially storing a series of editing commands designated by a user during a period of editing one image; (b) a step of generating associated information related to the image edited based on the series of editing commands; (c) a step of registering the series of editing commands as a command string, in correspondence with the associated information; and (d) a step of displaying associated information corresponding to already-registered command strings.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the image editing method, for editing an image by using plural editing commands, includes: (a) a step of sequentially storing a series of editing commands designated by a user during a period of editing one image; (b) a step of generating associated information related to the image edited based on the series of editing commands; (c) a step of registering the series of editing commands as a command string, in correspondence with the associated information; (d) a step of displaying associated information corresponding to already-registered command strings in list form; and (e) a step of, in response to selection of displayed associated information, applying a command string corresponding to the selected associated information to a currently-being edited image.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the image editing method, for editing an image in accordance with a user-input event, includes: (a) a step of storing a series of user-input events, caused during a predetermined image-editing period, as a macro; (b) a step of generating associated information related to editing contents realized by the macro as the user-input events; (c) a step of displaying associated information corresponding to respective macros in list form; and (d) a step of, in response to selection of displayed associated information, applying a macro corresponding to the selected associated information to a currently-edited image.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the image editing apparatus, for editing an image by using plural editing commands, includes: (a) input means for inputting an editing command; (b) edited-image generation means for generating an edited image in accordance with the command inputted via the input means; (c) display means for displaying the edited image on a display screen; (d) input-command storage means for sequentially storing a series of editing commands designated by a user during a period of editing one image; (e) associated-information generation means for generating associated information related to the image edited based on the series of editing commands; and (f) command-string registration means for registering the series of editing commands as a command string, in correspondence with the associated information.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the image editing apparatus, for editing an image by using plural editing commands, includes: (a) input means for inputting an editing command; (b) edited-image generation means for generating an edited image in accordance with the command inputted via the input means; (c) display means for displaying the edited image on a display screen; (d) input-command storage means for sequentially storing a series of editing commands designated by a user during a period of editing one image; (e) associated-information generation means for generating associated information related to the image edited based on the series of editing commands; (f) command-string registration means for registering the series of editing commands as a command string, in correspondence with the associated information; and (g) associated-information display means for displaying the associated information corresponding to already-registered command strings.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the image editing apparatus, for editing an image by using plural editing commands, includes: (a) input means for inputting an editing command; (b) edited-image generation means for generating an edited image in accordance with the command inputted via the input means; (c) display means for displaying the edited image on a display screen; (d) input-command storage means for sequentially storing a series of editing commands designated by a user during a period of editing one image; (e) associated-information generation means for generating associated information related to the image edited based on the series of editing commands; (f) command-string registration means for registering the series of editing commands as a command string, in correspondence with the associated information; (g) associated-information display means for displaying associated information corresponding to already-registered command strings in list form; and (h) command-string application means for, in response to selection of displayed associated information, applying a command string corresponding to the selected associated information to a currently-edited image.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the image editing apparatus, for editing an image in accordance with a user-input event, includes: (a) input means for accepting a user-input event; (b) edited-image generation means for generating an edited image in accordance with the user-input event inputted via the input means; (c) display means for displaying the edited image on a display screen; (d) event storage means for storing a series of user-input events, caused during a predetermined image editing period, as a macro; (e) associated-information generation means for generating associated information related to editing contents realized by the macro as the user-input events; (f) associated-information display means for displaying associated information corresponding to respective macros in list form; and (g) macro application means for, in response to selection of displayed associated information, applying a macro corresponding to the selected associated information to a currently-edited image.
According to the image editing method and apparatus of the present invention, the history of editing commands instruct-inputted from the user is temporarily stored. Further, the history of editing commands used in a period of editing one image, i.e., a command string, is registered in correspondence with associated information related to the edited image. In other words, the series of command strings used in the past is handled as macros.
Further, in the following image editing operation, the associated information related to the already-registered commands are displayed in list form within a window image. The format of list display can be made by, e.g., displaying the respective associated information as buttons and selecting one of command strings at the click of a mouse. The user can discriminate the editing effect of a command string by observing the associated information, and can visually discriminate a command string appropriate to the currently-edited image.
The user can designate desired associated information by the click of a corresponding button within the list display window. In response to this designation operation, a command string corresponding to the associated information is applied to the currently-edited image.
The associated information in the respective aspects of the present invention may be information which allows the user to easily imagine and discriminate the contents of the command strings, e.g., thumbnails of edited images (reduced RGB image data) or identification information such as serial numbers allotted to the edited images.
Further, when the associated information is displayed in list form within the widow image, if additional information such as the date of generation of image, the original size, the printing size, whether form is necessary or unnecessary is added to the associated information, the user""s discrimination can be further improved.
That is, according to the present invention, as the command strings used in the past image editing are handled as macros, the operability can be improved. Further, the command strings as the macros are displayed by identification numbers or thumbnails of edited images, the user can easily discriminate editing effects of the respective command strings. Further, upon implementation of the present invention, specific hardware is not required, and further, excessive load is not applied on the user.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same name or similar parts throughout the figures thereof.